Hands-Free: They're on anything but the wheel

Pleading with drivers to "keep both hands on the wheel" is like ordering your teens to clean their rooms. Right, don't expect miracles.

A new California driving law, which will take effect Tuesday , aims to keep cell phones out of hands and away from ears. Either use a hands-free device or suffer the indignity and expense of being ticketed. Drivers under 18 won't be allowed to use a wireless phone, hands-free or otherwise.

Theoretically, millions of hands will return to the steering wheel but, again, don't expect miracles. Automakers and the high-tech industry continue to tempt us with innovations and gadgets that require a free hand while driving – like those onboard computer keyboards in police units.

Right, it's not about law enforcement, it's about us.

As habitual multi-taskers, we're vulnerable to outrageous behavior like gnawing on a Chalupa Supreme while text-messaging the BF at 60 mph.

"We've had students who've asked, 'How do I steer with my knees?' " says Henning Mortensen, owner of Bond Driving School, based in Sacramento. "Texting is the biggest issue right now."

Actually, the new law doesn't specifically prohibit text-messaging while driving for those 18 and older. However, it is discouraged and you can be ticketed if texting is deemed the reason you've swerved onto the shoulder or drifted into another lane.

Two weeks ago, state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, proposed legislation that would add text messaging to driving's no-no list. Should the bill pass, it would take effect Jan. 1.

Mortensen says each generation has embraced the latest technology and enjoyed it while driving – often with one or more hands off the steering wheel.

"We're going through a transition period," says Mortensen, referring to texting and cell phone use. "In the '60s and '70s, it was using a radio or reaching for 8-track tapes in a bag in the backseat. Then came cassettes, then changing CDs. One thing you don't see anymore is teens reading books while they're driving."

Brian Bauter, a senior risk engineering consultant based in Portland, Ore., teaches defensive driving.

"Food, cell phones, changing radio stations, changing CDs, iPods are all driving distractions," he says from Los Angeles, talking on a hands-free cell phone and with both hands gripping the wheel.

Bauter prefers holding the steering wheel in the traditional 10-2 position (think of a clock face – hands at the 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. position).

"It's the most comfortable for me and it gives you the most turning radius if something serious happens," he says.

The driving test instructors for the California Department of Motor Vehicles insist that you drive with two hands on the steering wheel but recently have altered the position of the hands, according to spokeswoman Jan Mendoza. The DMV now prefers the 9-3 position.

The reason: Airbags, when deployed, have caused hand and wrist injuries to drivers using the 10-2.

Spread wider, the thinking goes, the hands aren't slammed into the body by the airbag.

"We're mainly looking for attentiveness, looking at the road," says Mendoza about DMV driving test instructors.

"They should be able to steer with full control of the vehicle. It's more of a common sense thing."

And common sense would seem to dictate two hands on the steering wheel are better than one – or none.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Dan Vierria, (916) 321-1119.